Wednesday, April 8, 2015

The World of Cenotaph in GURPS Space

Cenotaph in GURPS Space
Because I can, and because I've been exploring GURPS a lot again lately, I thought I'd stat it out using GURPS Space. There may be a lot more GURPS Space in these entries:

Cenotaph is currently a center of research on the relics of the largely intact Cenotaph civilization, and a study of the survivor species, which appear to be a mutational mix of megafauna and imported alien lifeforms that reside in "bands" of livable territory where the radiation and fallout of twenty centuries earlier have not sterilized the planet. Despite the surviving life, it is too risky to place an outpost on the planet and only temporary settlements for research of no more than a week with shielding are permitted right now. Researchers outside of the Academy regularly stay at the Orbital Station (called Portal) working under contract or doing private research on Cenotaph. The lone Eidolon Titus dwells in the largest ruin on the planet, the once-great city he calls Denosius.

The explorers and researchers on Cenotaph are welcome, but the lure of ancient yet intact technology brings all sorts of relic hunters to this corner of the galaxy. The very modest local presence of the Colonial Defense is understaffed and all told has thirty men and one local system cutter for defense. They don't really think they need it, though: the eidolon Titus has proven to be an effective one-man army against any threats to the system.

Cenotaph Statistics:Orbital Radius: .99 AU around a G2 star (NGC 8876 "Holt's Respite" after the first scout surveyor to visit the system)World Type: Standard (Garden; but damaged due to radiation/ancient warfare)Diameter: 8,800 milesMoons: two captured asteroids (C1 and C2)Atmosphere: thin (.79 atm); the nuclear effect on the planet has damaged what was once an earth-normal atmosphereHydrographic Coverage: 56%Climate: 300K (kelvins), normal (60 to 80 F average; up to -20 F at poles) - Cenotaph is on the verge of or possibly recovering from a runaway greenhouse effect that has since subsided, possibly due to atmospheric scrubbers that still function in certain ruined installations.World density: Gravity: Normal (1.1 G) (This section in GURPS Space goes well beyond what we need for a high-action SF game so you can figure out density, mass and all that if you like from the imposed gravity...)Dominant Terrains: Desert, irradiatedSettlement Type: Research OutpostPopulation: Extremely Sparse (rugged animal life and one eidolon named Titus, plus "Portal," the orbital Academy Research Outpost of about 3,000); the planet is capable of sustaining more in the "habitable bands" but requires development.Government: Academy policy (corporate); world unity (but special; limited to Academy outposts)Control Rating: CR2 (free; limited to loose corporate/academic policy and procedures defined by the Commonwealth Charter of Development Standards for Free Colonies; only LC0 and LC1 are banned)Customs: strict Academy protocol for handling hazard worldsTech Level: the dead Cenotaph civilization was significantly more advanced than the Commonwealth today (13+). The outpost has access to Commonwealth normal (11) but trails due to remote location (10-delayed).Spaceport: The Academy Research Outpost Station is Class II (frontier)Installations: On Starport: colonial office, corporate office, private research center, patrol base; On Planet: private research center, nature preserve, government research center (this is classified), possible pirate base (cloaked)

The important thing is that in a million years, when the brain-worms of Arcturus IX have annihilated us throughout the galaxy, there will be no surviving recordings of blogs to be found by the cephalopods that evolve to replace us. In this way will their civilization advance and prosper.